Our government keeps on failing SA’s stars in the arts
Beyoncé has Blue Ivy, Princess Diana’s two sons are all kinds of royalty and Madonna has her litter of famous adopted babies. While the globe boasts many famed children of icons, in SA none can hold a candle to the fascinating life of Bongani Fassie.
When you are the son of a superstar like Brenda Fassie, whose life was spread across all papers, TV stations and everyone’s lips – there is a shadow that will always loom over you. For every Brenda scandal that made news, Bongani had a front row ticket to her rock star life.
This past week, Bongani let us into this world. While he has shared only the tip of the iceberg before, the musician and producer is now giving us an in depth look through his current Moja Love doccie titled Finding Bongani.
In as much as Fassie is to blame for the chaotic household Bongani was brought up in, raising him in a volcanic environment filled with dignitaries and pop stars, her trials and tribulations were impossible to avoid, especially with the state of affairs for arts and culture in SA.
In the 20 years that separated Fassie and Shaleen SurtieRichards, nothing has changed in the passing of our icons. Our government has never been able to protect the legacy of the actors, musicians and artists in SA.
Even the neglect of monuments like the Apartheid Museum and Nelson Mandela’s homes in
Houghton and Soweto echo the passionless fervour with which the sports, arts and culture department protects these spaces.
In a similar stance, the government has neglected to take care of one of our most prized possessions – our living icons. When they are not being celebrated for achieving global success, officials remember the great careers of our stars when they are dead and no longer a problem they have to worry about.
Bongani’s documentary, the fall of our heritage museums and Surtie-Richards’s death align at a time when our very own president has expected sympathy for the wealthy lives our officials live.
Our government becomes a dark comedy where we are the butt of the joke and they are the overpaid audience laughing at yet another one of our never-ending maladies. The problem is, the joke is not funny when actors are left traumatised, or worse – dead.
In a country with outdated bills, fallen monuments and a daunting art space, the entertainment industry has become a real-life Hunger Games where few live to see success and many of those swimming in the tiny pool are eating each other for survival.
And when you are Bongani, the son of an icon, who should be as revered as the children of Beyoncé, Diana and Madonna, the arts and culture industry is a hellhole that will forever owe a debt to him and his mother.
It’s high time we champion the rights of entertainers rather than look the other way. When it isn’t neglect, it’s the very art councils that should be keeping them safe. Every bit of our arts and culture is reduced to rubble and addiction as politicians responsible for them rest happily on large pot bellies.